Photofission of actinide nuclei in the quasideuteron and lower part of the {delta} energy region
- Center for Nuclear Studies, Department of Physics, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052 (United States)
- Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 0W0 (Canada)
- Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117312, Russia (Russian Federation)
The total photofission cross sections for the actinide nuclei {sup 232}Th, {sup 233}U, {sup 235}U, {sup 238}U, and {sup 237}Np have been measured from 68 to 264 MeV using tagged photons at the Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory. The fission fragments were detected using parallel-plate avalanche detectors. The results show that the fission probability for {sup 238}U is 20% lower than that for {sup 237}Np and 40% higher than that for {sup 232}Th. Less significant differences were also found among the individual uranium isotopes. These results contradict the assumption that the fission probability for {sup 238}U is approximately equal to unity in this energy range. It has also been observed that the fission probability as a function of energy for all these isotopes is constant, with the exception of that for {sup 232}Th, which increases with energy, although it seems to be reaching a saturation value. Comparison between the total photofission cross section for {sup 237}Np and the photoabsorption cross sections for lighter nuclei shows a behavior consistent with a broadening of the {delta} resonance with increasing atomic mass. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
- OSTI ID:
- 20215672
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics, Journal Name: Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 61; ISSN 0556-2813; ISSN PRVCAN
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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